If you're reading this page it is probably because you want to do something that should be simple and straightforward - you want to make and receive phone calls while traveling out of the country. You want this to be convenient and simple, like roaming within the US, both for you when making calls, and for people when telephoning to you. You want good coverage so your phone (nearly) always works, and you want this to be affordable.

What sort of international cell phone do you need?

Chances are you already have a cell phone. But, sadly, the chances also are that it won't work outside of the US. And even phones that are sold as "world phones" may be severely limited in terms of which countries they will work in.

This section helps you to understand what types of phones will work where.

From the most important perspective – you as a user of cell phone service, GSM beats all other types of wireless service because of one very important feature. You can use one phone with many different GSM services. This feature - unique to GSM - is the key to cost effective international telephone service.

After choosing a phone that will work for you while traveling, now you need to add wireless service to the phone. There are several very different approaches for you to consider - we explain the pluses and minuses of each of these.

It seems the internet is full of companies offering to rent you a phone to use while traveling. For some people, this can be a truly good deal. But most people will quickly discover a nasty catch that could make a rental phone a costly mistake. Find out which category fits you, so you make the best choice.

Telestial is your one stop shop for everything to do with international communications. Here are more thoughts and ideas to help you keep in convenient contact at the lowest cost, no matter where in the world you are, and no matter where in the world you're trying to call.